Exploring Amish Culture and Communities
Iowa is home to America s ninth-largest Amish population, spread across about 25 settlements. The oldest dates to 1846; the newest on this list, to 2011. The following communities are the largest in Iowa, based on the most current Amish population estimates. Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom). 1. Bloomfield Bloomfield…
I hate to share this news, but it s being reported that a farm accident claimed the life of another Amish child Friday. An eight-year-old boy was pronounced dead this morning at a home in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. More from the CBS Pittsburgh report: An 8-year-old died after an accident involving farm equipment in Mercer County on Friday morning, authorities said. In a public information…
An Amish woman has been hospitalized after a wreck yesterday afternoon (Aug. 13) in Stark County, Ohio. This one resulted from a common and potentially dangerous situation that doesn t get talked about enough. First, the key details from the Canton Repository: Trooper A. Burch said the Amish woman, who lives in the Navarre area, was riding her buggy south on Navarre Road SW. A man... The post This…
Two days after ordering Amish Acres closed, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has released a new report stating that no violations were found at the Nappanee, Indiana property. The owner, Brad Juneau, says the shutdown came down to missing paperwork rather than anything unsafe at the site. The IDHS abruptly shut down the business on Tuesday, citing violations identified during a…
An Iowa health facility run by a former Amish man has been shut down by court order. A judge has ruled that those operating it are a danger to the public. We ve looked at this case already on two occasions once when the story of charges against clinic operator Eddie R. Gingerich broke back in May, and later when further details emerged on his... The post “A Danger To The Public”: Judge Shuts Down…
Daryl Heller, the Lancaster County businessman whose ATM investment network drew money from Amish and Mennonites across the Lancaster County area, among others, pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Monday, August 10. However, no one has yet established how much his investors actually lost with his attorney even claiming to the court that the figure could be zero. Charged In September 2025 This…
Amish Acres, an iconic Amish-themed destination in Nappanee, Indiana, has been shut down by the state until fire safety violations are corrected, following a reinspection of the facility. Several safety-related violations, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, have led the agency to issue an emergency order requiring all to leave the property and prohibiting anyone from…
Judy Stavisky, author of In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women, shares her recent visit to an Amish community on Prince Edward Island, Canada, with us today. All photos in this post by Judy Stavisky. “Would you like to join us for a bowl of ice cream? We churned it ourselves.” A soft voice from behind a thin blue curtain invited us inside—a... The post A Visit To The Amish Of Prince Edward…
Six people were ejected from a horse-drawn buggy in Bedford County, Pennsylvania on Sunday evening when a car struck it from behind. This is in the same Pennsylvania county where a proposed steel wheel buggy ban failed just days earlier. The crash happened in the early evening on August 9 along William Penn Road, near the intersection with Younts Road, in East St. Clair Township.... The post Six…
Ben Rose don t put on too many shows but they recently played a couple of big ones in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (more on that below). We ve been following Ben and Rose s music since late 2024, from their first eye-and-ear-catching viral appearance as an Amish couple playing a classic country music tune to dozens of song releases since. A profile from LancasterOnline published ahead of... The…